


(not the hell) Our Whales

by thesadchicken



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Extremely fluffy fluff, Light and funny, M/M, Whales, You Have Been Warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-04 00:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5312936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesadchicken/pseuds/thesadchicken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Universe hasn't been kind to Jim and Spock lately. But everybody knows that whale watching is the cure to just about anything. Right?</p><p>Based on <a href="http://thesadchicken.tumblr.com/post/122086356333">this post by demonicvulcan on tumblr.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	(not the hell) Our Whales

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank my friend [OrmondSacker](http://archiveofourown.org/users/OrmondSacker/pseuds/OrmondSacker#_=_) for beta-reading this for me. You're a gift for Humanity. 
> 
> This fanfic also comes with a fanmix. You can listen to it [here](https://8tracks.com/sadchicken/not-the-hell-our-whales)

Somewhere beyond the sea of stars, Spock was waiting for him.

Jim gently tugged at his end of the bond, and it almost felt like brushing his fingertips against his husband’s cheek.

‘ _I miss you_ ,’ he projected through their bond, squeezing his eyes closed. And sure enough, only a second later, a wave of adoration crashed along the shore of his mind, and its remains came nipping at his ankles. Imaginings of sand felt warm and soft under his feet, and delicate beads of tropical rain caught in his hair. The ghost of Spock’s hand slipped into his, their palms pressing together, fingers intertwining. He turned around and…

“Captain Kirk, sir.”

…and the moment was lost. The beach disappeared, replaced by the _Enterprise_ ’s dimly lit observation deck.

“Lieutenant Abdurrahman,” he addressed the young woman who had interrupted his and Spock’s daydreaming. Irritation radiated out of him, and a pang of concern reached him through the bond.

 _‘I’m alright Spock. Duty calls’_.

“I was wondering, sir…” the lieutenant fumbled nervously with her uniform sleeve, “since we’ll be arriving at spacedock in three days and we don’t have much to do during that time… maybe we could talk a little, you know, discuss time travel and all that?”

 _Oh, yes_. Abdurrahman was the ship’s historian. Very young, very bright and _very_ interested in 20 th century Earth.

Jim smiled indulgently. He had never stopped feeling that young and enthusiastic about his work himself; how could he deny Abdurrahman her own passion? After all, he had travelled to the 20th century on several occasions, and without being a historian himself, he could probably give her the kind of insight into that period that no one else could.

“Of course,” he nodded, and she positively beamed back at him.

~

Three days of unrelenting interrogations proved to be a challenge, after all.

 _So much for my youthful enthusiasm,_ Jim sighed.

During the past few weeks, one unfortunate event after another had struck the Enterprise. First, Spock had been called back to Earth on official business – he had been asked to join the Federation Science Council, a position Jim wouldn’t begrudge him, although they both knew he would eventually decline the invitation. In the meantime, the _Enterprise_ had been sent to the far reaches of the Beta Quadrant on a reconnaissance mission. As Jim had warned Starfleet Command, the ill-timed errand to enemy borders had led to a violent encounter with a Tholian ship – whose Commander had insisted they were violating Tholian space. Starfleet would say that the incident couldn’t be described as anything more than a skirmish. Admittedly, it hadn’t lasted long: Jim had tried to avoid opening fire, until firing was the only option they had left, but the _USS Kongo_ had arrived shortly after the battle had begun and drove the Tholians to retreat. The damage was done, however, and the _Enterprise_ needed repairs as soon as possible.

The crew was exhausted and frustrated, and McCoy had pointed out that nothing could cure that except a few days of shore leave. So they were heading back to Earth to get the ship fixed and where Jim would finally, _finally_ get some rest. _And see Spock_. His stomach did an embarrassing little flip at the thought and he tried to stop himself from smiling. It seemed that even after thirteen years of marriage, he still behaved like a love-struck teenager when it came to that particular Vulcan scientist.

 _One more day to go_ , he thought.

But until then, he hada lot of paperwork to do. Jim suppressed a yawn and pushed himself off the captain’s chair.

“Commander Uhura, you have the conn,” he sighed, heading towards the turbolift.

Uhura flashed him an encouraging smile as she passed him by and he tried to return it with equal warmth. It seemed like everyone onboard thought he needed a vacation – including himself. Oh no, wait; everyone but Lieutenant Abdurrahman. She was probably waiting for him in the rec room right now.

“Deck four,” he ordered the turbolift.

There was no way he could take another hour of Abdurrahman’s never-ending questions. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her; she was brilliant andalways very polite, but she had an annoying tendency to… get ahead of herself. And his head was already pounding without the additional over-excited-lieutenant-squealing.

He hastened through the corridors, hoping she wasn’t anywhere near deck four. Once he reached his quarters, undressed and threw himself onto the bed, he had just enough time to feel mildly guilty about avoiding Abdurrahman before he fell into a light, dreamless sleep.

~

Somewhere beyond the sea of people, Spock was waiting for him.

Jim elbowed his way through the crowd, barely concealing the excitement coiling up inside of him. The shuttle bay at Earth Spacedock was positively swarming with passengers; Starfleet officers, alien officials and even a few civilians. A transporter malfunction had forced everyone to use shuttlecrafts to get to the station, but even the annoyance Jim had felt at having to wait an hour longer than scheduled was forgotten now because Spock was there, somewhere, and he just had to –

“Excuse me? Excuse me? Sir?”

 _Oh no. No no no no no_.

He was going to pretend he hadn’t heard her. He’d apologize later. Right now he couldn’t stop and talk, he really couldn’t. He mentally could not endure Lieutenant Abdurrahman’s babbling, not for at least two of three weeks. He could lose her in the crowd though.

He quickened his pace, pushed his way past a flock of cadets, ducked behind a Caitian officer…

But her hand was suddenly on his sleeve, and she tugged, _the nerve!_ He turned around to confront her this time, but before he could say a word he was pulled into a tight embrace and Spock’s mind touched his.

 _Warmth, desire, happiness… ‘Welcome home, I have missed you’_.

“Jim,” Spock muttered, placing his lips on the top of Jim’s head and wrapping his arms around his shoulders.

“Spock!” Jim cried, pushing away just enough to get a good look at his husband.

His face was a placid mask of stoicism but his eyes were gleaming with veiled emotion, and at the corner of his lips, buried under layers of Vulcan indifference, was that secret smile. Jim’s smile, the one only he could get, and he found himself longing for it.

_‘I’ve missed you too. It’s been over a month!’_

“Four weeks, three days, eight-hours, twenty-two minutes,” Spock answered out loud, his hands slowly falling to his sides.

He looked handsome in his uniform, but Jim couldn’t wait to get him out of it, to fall asleep in his arms and wake up next to him, to watch him sleep for a few minutes, hair tousled and breathing slow, to place his palm on his side and feel his strong Vulcan heartbeat, to see that secret smile spread across his lips as he blinked in the morning sun… 

But he also looked tired, Jim noted with a frown. It wasn’t something most people would notice; Spock had been trained to withstand physical and mental strain beyond what any human could endure, without even a hint showing on his cold exterior. The Science Council must’ve been driving him mad.

“You are tired,” Spock echoed his thoughts.

“We both are,” Jim sighed, “I think it’s about time we took a few weeks off.”

~

Spock stepped out of the transport and turned towards his husband, who was fidgeting at the exit of the small vessel, his nose buried in his bag. The shuttle that they had shared with two Efrosian tourists and a group of young Deltan scientists had just landed in front of the only place in the Federation where one could see live Humpback whales. Two years ago, after a desperate rescue mission that had involved time travel, nuclear vessels – and of course, whales – Terran scientists had decided to study these 20th century creatures a bit more closely, engineers had designed a whole new underwater settlement, and Federation authorities had seen to it that everything was installed before the end of the year. 

It wasn’t surprising that Jim and Spock hadn’t had time to visit the settlement yet, although they were responsible for its very existence. A few months before, their shore leave had been interrupted by Starfleet’s claim that the _Enterprise_ was the only ship who could stop a mysterious individual’s fanatical whims, which had led to the capture of the Federation, Romulan and Klingon ambassadors on Nimbus III. After overcoming the crisis they avoided discussing it, mostly because of the way it had affected Spock. Instead, they had taken the _Enterprise_ for a spin and they had lost themselves in space for another year. The crew, as loyal and trustworthy as ever, hadn’t objected.

Now, however, everybody had to admit that the excessive work was taking its toll on them. It was about time they finished their interrupted shore leave. So after a few days of camping out with McCoy, Jim had suggested going whale-watching. Spock had thought it was a very logical choice for a relaxed vacation; after all, it had the advantage of being entertaining, educational, and not too far from home. So here they were.

Jim shuffled through his Starfleet-issue shoulder bag as Spock patiently waited in front of the shuttle. “Shit,” he mumbled, “I can’t find the holo-imager. I must’ve lost it. I can’t believe this –”

Spock patted his own bag. “We had agreed I would carry it,”

“’Agreed’? You didn’t even tell me!” Jim scolded him, closing his bag and resuming his walk off of the transport platform.

Spock raised an eyebrow. “You do tend to misplace things.”

“Really?” Jim scowled, “you took the holo-imager away from me because you were afraid I’d lose it?”

“‘Afraid’ is not the word I would use –”

“Okay, listen, forget it,” Jim brushed the argument off, “Let’s get going before this place gets crowded.”

They made their way to the underwater tunnel with the rest of the tourists. The tunnels were conceived to take visitors through San Francisco bay from under water. They were a series of transparent corridors that went on for about 2 kilometers – “1.89,” Spock had specified – and at the end of which an underwater vessel took visitors to their chosen destination; which happened to be, for at least 99 percent of the tourists – “97.3,” Spock had said – the pacific ocean. Whale watching had become, over the past few years, one of the Federation’s most popular tourist attractions. Earth was the must-go place for scientists, animal lovers and anyone who wanted to brag about having seen live Humpbacks.

Jim knew this, and he knew that his and Spock’s visit wouldn’t go entirely unnoticed, but he hadn’t expected to be assailed by a herd of journalists the moment he and his husband left the transport platform.

“Captain Kirk!” a young Edosian called, his holo-imager pointed directly at them, “you brought the humpback whales from the 20th century: can you tell us more about time-travel?”

 _Oh no. Not again_. Jim shot Spock a panicked look.

“Captain Kirk, over here sir! A holo-image for Nebula magazine!”

Spock discreetly slid his hand against Jim’s arm and wrapped his fingers around his husband’s wrist. The touch lit a spark that rekindled their telepathic link; Spock’s thoughts echoed in Jim’s mind.

A single word flowed through the bond: _run_. Jim met it with incredulity. Spock raised an eyebrow and insisted. _We must run_.

Jim’s disbelieving frown melted into a wide grin. He clasped their hands together and, without another word, they were off, sprinting through the underwater tunnel, dodging tourists as best they could. Jim couldn’t help the laughter bursting out of him as he tried to keep up with Spock’s steady pace. He almost bumped into an Andorian Starfleet Officer. “Excuse me,” he said, amusement tinting his voice. He chuckled to himself when he recognized the officer. _Captain N’Chess! This is going to be difficult to explain back at Head Quarters_. But he really couldn’t bring himself to care. He was running like his life depended on it, Spock’s body almost brushing his, Spock’s thoughtstrickling through his mind, radiating _happiness, mischief, affection_. He felt young and carefree and quite silly: they probably couldn’t outrun the journalists – they weren’t as young as they used to be – but what the hell. He was having _fun_.

However, ‘fun’ turned out to be far more draining than he’d thought. He was out of breath a few minutes into the chase – which, he noticed as he looked behind him, wasn’t much of a chase. The journalists had gotten the message, it seemed, and hadn’t followed them. They were probably questioning the two captains’ mental state by now.

Jim broke into a light jog before coming to a halt. Spock stopped too, although he as considerably less breathless than his husband.

“You think we lost them?” Jim panted, bent over with his hands on his knees.

Spock turned around to check, gauging the people in the tunnel behind them. “I believe they have given up.”

“No kidding,” Jim laughed.

He straightened up, tugging at the hem of his shirt. He looked at Spock, who stared back blankly for a second, and suddenly it became impossible to hold it in: Jim burst out laughing, sending waves of sheer hilarity through the bond. They seemed to shake Spock’s calm composure, because a gush of amusement reached Jim across their link and drew an almost imperceptible smile on Spock’s lips.

“That was your plan?” Jim managed after a moment, “’ _Run_ ’?”

Spock bit his lower lip in a vain attempt to hide an entirely un-Surakian grin. “It did seem like the logical course of action.”

Jim gave his bondmate a loving look and shook his head in affectionate admonishment. “I bet it did.”

~

Fingers entwined, minds linked, hearts beating as one, Jim and Spock stood on the underwater transport’s large observation deck. They had reached the open ocean and all kinds of interesting creatures were swimming around in the screen in front of them: angelfish, dragonets, tiger sharks, jellyfish... Jim could name quite a few, thanks to Spock’s new fascination with Earth’s aquatic ecosystem. In the water, the sun caught a few silvery bubbles, turning their reflections into little golden stars in the immensity of the ocean.

Jim turned to Spock. The transport’s artificial blue light tinted his sharp features, throwing wavering shadows on his face. Shimmering stripes of light from the screen painted undulating webs on his cheeks, and a smile was hiding at the corners of his lips. It hung there, invisible to everyone but Jim.

 _You’re excited_. Spock tilted his head to the side, and his eyes gleamed in the dim lighting. _You’ve missed them_ , Jim insisted. Spock turned to him, raising an eyebrow. _I’ve missed them too_ , Jim reassured him. Spock nodded once, his hand squeezed Jim’s slightly, and he leaned in to place a quick kiss on his husband’s forehead.

Just then, a familiar song emanating from the transport’s speakers filled the observation deck.

“It’s them,” Jim beamed.

Surely enough, two – no, three! – Humpback whales appeared on the screen. They swayed through the ocean in their own slow, deliberate way; _ever graceful giants_. One of them was singing.

“They say the sea is cold but the sea contains the hottest blood of all,” Jim muttered, humbled by the sight.

“D.H. Lawrence, ‘Whales Weep Not’,” Spock said, eyes locked onto the screen.

“The little one looks healthy,” Jim tried to conceal the fatherly pride in his voice.

“Indeed,” Spock answered.

They stood there in entranced silence for a few minutes, watching George, Gracie and their little one dance in the water. They were both deeply attached to the whales, and Jim wasn’t entirely sure why. Was it because of Spock’s mind-meld with them, back in the 20th century? Or was it the fact that the animals quite literally saved their lives – not to mention their home planet? Or was it something deeper? Was it something about their own relationship, something that had brought them back together? Jim vividly remembered the moment Spock first smiled at him after ‘fal-tor-pan’. Hitting the water, he had felt those arms around him, and their bond had strengthened, and when he had opened his eyes, Spock had been there, _his_ Spock, the Spock who knew and loved him…

“Thank you,” Jim whispered at the screen, watching as the whales swam out of sight.

~

Captains Kirk and Spock’s silhouettes were outlined beautifully against the underwater scenery displayed on the large screen. They were discreetly holding hands – they probably thought nobody would notice. Captain Kirk looked deeply moved by his whale-watching experience; Captain Spock looked serene.

They were absolutely adorable, Lieutenant Abdurrahman decided. And what a happy coincidence to find them here!

She had decided to spend a few weeks of her extended shore leave with her parents on Earth, before taking a quick trip to San Francisco to see the now galactically-famous whales. By pure chance, she had stumbled upon the one person in the Quadrant who could tell her more about the sea-dwelling creatures than anyone else: Captain Kirk!

She had so many questions… Good thing the trip lasted over four hours!


End file.
